Van Halen 5150 Guitar Tabs

Get Up Tab

First I'd like to commend you on your choice of songs. "Get Up" kicks
ass. Second of all, the REASON it kicks ass is because Eddie plays it
with his Steinberger which has a special tremolo system (called
"Trans-Trem") which allows him to shift chord shapes as solid blocks of
sound. Regular Floyd-Roses lose pitch in individual strings when you
try to pull up while playing a chord. The Trans-Trem is designed so
that none of the strings lose any intonation or pitch when it is
shifted. It ALSO has the added feature of being able to be locked in
position (up or down) to TRANSpose. Eddie locks the trem about a step
and a half up to play the short tapping solo in the middle of "Get Up".
This locking feature is also used in the intro to "Summer Nights" and on
"Pleasure Dome" from F.U.C.K. The "sliding" sounds for the intro and
main riff of "Get Up" are played using the Trans-Trem's "pitch-shifting"
abilities. Now, maybe you HAVE a Trans-Trem and I'm just farting in the
wind OR you don't care WHAT it's played on and want the tab anyway.
Fine... 8-)
Main riff:
-----------------|-------------|-------------|----------------|-------
---2---2---0---2-|-----------2-|--2--2--0--2-|--3/(u&r&d&r)-3-|-------
---2---2---0---2-|--2/(u&r)--2-|--2--2--0--2-|--2/(u&r&d&r)-2-|-------
---2---2---0---2-|--2/(u&r)--2-|--2--2--0--2-|--0/(u&r&d&r)-0-|-------
-----------------|-------------|-------------|----------------|-------
-----------------|-------------|-------------|----------------|-------
[the u&r is "pull up & release" and the u&r&d&r is "pull up & release &
push down & release; I don't know the exact pitches in steps and
half-steps but you can listen for when you've pushed or pulled too far]
It's just A chords and muted percussive sounds during each line of the
verses. But between each line of the verse, do: G D G D G D A. And
it's back to the percussive sounds.
Sorry, but I don't know the pre-chorus. I just play some funky stuff on
A and D chords. Then a B power chord on "Never say die!". Then G to
Eminor right before Sammy says "OW! Get UP!". Then it's back to the
main riff for the chorus.
I'm no lead player so I don't know the solo either. (Geez, this is
going to be one of the MOST incomplete tabs ever.)
Unfortunately, this is one of those songs you just CAN'T play without
the right equipment. It's too bad too, cause it ROCKS. I hope this
helped (however little)... Good Luck.